Stamford Woman Charged with Embezzling $430K from Grandmother

A 35-year-old Stamford woman has been arrested on charges that she embezzled close to $500,000 from her grandmother before his passing, Stamford Police Sgt. Pete DiSpagna announced Friday.

Heather K. Gansel, of Hope St., was accused of systematically embezzling $439,000 from her grandmother during a period when she held Power of Attorney and had access to several of her grandmother's bank accounts, DiSpagna said.

The initial complaint was filed in August by Gansel's uncle after he attempted to write a check using one of the accounts and it was discovered the account was empty.

Stamford Police Investigator Jeffrey Booth began looking into the case and reportedly discovered money being withdrawn from several of the accounts between April 2011 and August of 2012.

DiSpagna said Gansel was a chiropractor and was allegedly using the funds for personal use and for a spa business she ran.

Gansel was charged with first-degree larceny. She is being held on a $50,000 bond and has a court date of December 13, 2012.